Captains and Cruise Ships
It was just a ship, just a small caravel from a little island in the East Blue, and they were her passengers.
Just a ship.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It was just a ship, but it had a name: the Going Merry. The crew had accepted its name, which its builder had given it, and hadn't talked about changing the name for even one second. Other ships weren't so lucky. Sometimes, a crew would ignore the name given to the ship by the creator, especially if they were a pirate crew. The ship's birth name would be buried under years of sailing and would be forgotten. The birth name of a ship wasn't just a name, either - - it was their essence, their personality, their honor. "Going Merry" was more than just a play on the creator's own name. It meant that the little caravel would go anywhere merrily, would cheerfully carry its crew through even the darkest corners of the sea.
"Look down!"
Even so, the Going Merry was just a ship.
It was just a ship, but it had wished for something more. It had seen its passengers, the Straw Hats, through a handful of adventures and greatly contrasting environments. It had experienced the bitter cold of Drum Island. It knew the intense, dry heat of the desert kingdom, Alabasta. It had braved Reverse Mountain and the Knock-Up Stream, to herald its passengers safely to the Grand Line and Skypiea, respectively. There had been times when it felt like it could sail no longer, but the crew would rebuild it with love and timber, and it would find the strength to voyage onward. After all it had gone through, it had wished for something more, and had even shown its spirit to one of its passengers before.
It hadn't meant to scare the sniper.
"Look to the sea!"
It was just a ship.
The Going Merry was just a ship, but it had feelings, too. When Nami had sailed alone to her helpless hometown, it had cried with her. When Usopp tenderly nailed in more boards to replace those that had been broken in storms or by the crew's antics, nursing it with the care of a mother, it had wanted to comfort him, too. When Zoro rested his head against its side, it soothed him and kept away his nightmares. It wrapped Robin and Chopper in its warm embrace, protected them from the cruel world outside. But when Luffy sat on its figurehead, a smiling goat - - that was when it felt the happiest and the most loved.
"I am here!"
Yes, the Going Merry was just a ship.
But even so, it seemed to hold a special place in its captain's heart. Monkey D. Luffy never treated it like it was just a ship. Even when he had ripped off its mast to fight Laboon, he had apologized softly for doing so beforehand. Sometimes, when he sat on its goat figurehead, he would pat it and quietly tell it stories of his childhood, how he had met his fiery brother and lost another. He would thank it once in a while, thank it graciously for carrying his friends one league further through the toughest ocean in the entire world. Once, he had even whispered to it that he considered it to be more than just a ship - - Luffy thought of the Merry as one of his nakama.
"Everyone, look to the sea!"
It was just a ship, but the Going Merry wanted to make sure its passengers were safe. And so, with the last-minute repairs Iceburg had done, it had voyaged over stormy seas without a single person manning it. It slipped, unnoticed, into what amounted to a small naval war. It dodged Marine ships that simply towered over it, stray cannonballs, and dangerous waters, a very clear destination etched into every splinter, even the smallest string of rope. The sails proudly bearing the straw-hat-wearing skull-and-crossbones, it bravely glided over the waves to its friends, who were alone and trapped, with no way to escape. The Going Merry rose its voice over the din of battle and reached out to each member of its crew.
"I want to take you all... on one last journey!"
"We understand, Merry!" Chopper's tearful voice called back.
Usopp was sobbing. "T-To the sea! The sea!"
Its brave crew jumped to their ship. Everyone was crying - - even the strong, silent Zoro, who never shed tears except when remembering his late friend Kuina. They weren't tears of sadness, or pain, or discomfort. The Straw Hats' tears were those of joy.
When everybody had safely landed on its deck, Luffy smiled and whispered, "Thank you, Merry," and the caravel couldn't have been happier, even as it was quickly dieing.
Yes - - it was just a ship.
But it was a pirate ship, and they were her beloved passengers.
Nothing more, nothing less.
A little one-shot I thought of as I was surfing through the One Piece archive. I saw someone had posted a tribute to the Going Merry, and although I didn't actually read their tribute, I thought it was a good idea and decided to write one myself. As for the title - - it's homage to one of my favorite bands, Owl City. He made a song called Captains and Cruise Ships, so that's where the title of this one-shot comes from.
In memory of the Going Merry.
-TheRealEvanSG